Second episode
The second episode of Fireball XL5 is called "The Doomed Planet". Fireball XL5 and the crew are on patrol when they have a near miss with a planet which has escaped from its orbit and is careering through space. They discover it is on a crash course to the planet Membrono. Steve assumes that it is uninhabited and they don't need to worry about it any more. Unfortunately then they spot a mysterious flying saucer which, it turns out, saucer was sent by an old man who lives on Membrono to lure Steve and the crew to his planet. They follow the saucer and they realise it's leading them to Membrono, the doomed planet. Steve and Matt decide they should go down to the surface of Membrono to solve the mystery - even though the rogue planet is now close enough to see and will crash into Membrono. There, they meet the mysterious an old man who communicates telepathically with Robert the Robot. Steve says when they surveyed the planet they thought it was uninhabited. The old man tells them that was deliberate because they are vastly superior and come from a very ancient civilisation, and have discovered the futility of war. But that means they no longer have weapons to destroy the planet that's heading towards them. He pleads with them to destroy the rogue planet, and Steve agrees. The planet proves difficult to destroy and the crew end up using three interceptor missiles to set up an atomic chain reaction - but then the crew find themselves in danger because while the planet is now on fire it's heading right for them. Luckily it explodes just at the last minute. The old man communicates with them one last time through Robert, thanking them for saving their world and saying they are pleased that humanity has progressed so far. Commentary Looked at from the distance of more than half a century we can forget that for many young people, Fireball XL5 was their first experience of science fiction and space opera. For many, it was the first time they saw what have now become common tropes in television science fiction. In many ways, Fireball, even though aimed at a younger audience, beat Star Trek - which is seen by many as the first TV series to make science fiction work on TV. In this episode, the popular trope of a superior civilisation which has to be saved by our heroes is featured (a regular plot device in Star Trek and its many spin-offs), as is the superior being who can only communicate through telepathy (as seen in the very first pilot episode of Star Trek, where the Talosians can only be heard in an echoey voice - just like the old man in Fireball). In this episode we see a lot of Fireball hardware - Matt Matic's navigation control, Dr Venus's lab, the use of interceptors, Robert the Robot - all introducing us to the high tech power of Fireball. The flying saucer is less successful - it wobbles as it flies, and does look suspiciously like a children's top spinning top. But the scripting overcomes minor shortcomings like this, introducing, as it does, a complex theme. Steve is heroic, Matt is the perfect support for him, and Venus proves that a woman can do more than make coffee as she takes over the spaceship while Steve and Matt fly to the planet's surface. All in all, a valuable second outing for the crew of Fireball XL5.